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This past week, I spent less than 24 hours in New York for work, which translates into getting up at 4am for a 7am flight and flying home at 5pm to collapse in my bed at 7pm and remain dead to the world until the next morning. Can I tell you how exhausting that was?

There is a point where you are so exhausted, you are actually physically ill. That was me on the return flight.

On the bright side, I got to watch the sun rise from one of the best vantage points ever — the sky. The sun infuses the bare, brown trees with a hue that is so orange, it made them look like they were rusting.

On the downside, the only glimpses I got to actually see of New York were through glass windows of the office, in which I remained for the better part of the day.

What a city.

So, remember all that almond pulp you ended up with when you made almond milk? Yeah, how about that? What do we do with it?

I’ll tell you what we can do with it.

We can dry it out, grind it down a bit more and turn it into a wonderful homemade almond flour that is used in many healthy paleo-friendly recipes. Or you can be like me and go off the deep end and make macarons, which will be a post for another day.

For now, let’s just make some damn marzipan.

It’s so easy. No excuses.

Marzipan

1 pound almonds, blanched and skinless (you can use your dried out almond pulp here: to dry out your almond pulp, simply spread it out over a rimmed baking sheet and put it in your oven to warm for a few good hours, stirring it up occasionally)
1 pound (approximately 3 1/2 cups) confectioner’s sugar (feel free to use less or more, I like a less sweet marzipan, so I use the least amount I can get away with – just keep in mind that dramatic changes to this measurement may affect the end texture – however, that’s very easy to remedy)
2 egg whites OR 1/2 c of light corn syrup
1 tbs almond extract (I prefer my marzipan less medicinal-tasting, but feel free to up this to 2 tbs or more)
a very generous pinch or two of salt

A note about the egg whites: This recipe uses raw eggs. I always use organic eggs from cage-free, healthy hens that I trust to be free of disease. Make sure you use eggs you can trust too. Or, as an alternative, use corn syrup. The bonus of using corn syrup means you can store the marzipan at room temperature for weeks rather than in the refrigerator for a somewhat limited time.

In a food processor, grind your almonds (or pulp) down to a very fine powder. When the warmth of the machine starts to make your almond powder “clump,” add your confectioner’s sugar and salt, and continue to process it in. Once the sugar is thoroughly mixed in with the almond powder, add almond extract and egg whites. Process until thoroughly combined.

Turn your mixture out onto a clean work surface that is lightly powdered with confectioner’s sugar. Begin to knead the mixture until it comes together in a smooth dough. Feel free to add more sugar or binding liquids as needed to achieve desired texture.

What you can do with homemade marzipan:

You can go about molding the marzipan immediately into shapes using various candy molds or just your own two hands. (And then, perhaps, oh…dip it in chocolate, yum)

You can roll it into a big log and slice it up.

You can roll it out to use for other recipes.

You can store it for later use. If using egg whites, wrap it up in plastic and store it in the refrigerator.

Or, if you are me, you can begin gobbling some of it up immediately because you have impulse control problems.